


When Did We Become Strangers

by TheDissappearingAct



Category: Incredibles (Pixar Movies)
Genre: Angst, F/M, implied/refernced cheating, obviously no actual infidelity but helen doesn't know that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2018-08-29
Packaged: 2019-07-03 03:13:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15810141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDissappearingAct/pseuds/TheDissappearingAct
Summary: There are somethings that she can not ignore.





	When Did We Become Strangers

_"What is one thing you look for in a man?"_

_The red headed superhero smirked. "Why? Are you asking me out?" She laughed at his flustered face before continuing. "Well, if the public really wants to know, who am I to deny them?" She rested her chin on her red gloves, thinking for a moment. "Loyalty."_

_"You want your man to be faithful?"_

_"I **expect**_ _my man to be_   _faithful."_

_"So the only reason Elastigirl isn't taken is because she can't find a man that is faithful?"_

_"The only reason Elastigirl isn't called for is because she doesn't want to be called for. I don't have the liberty of mistakes in my life. And men? Men are just mistakes waiting to happen."_

* * *

Helen paced around the living room, aimlessly rearranging the pillows and coffetable magazines. The kids were already asleep but Bob still wasn't home. He had told her that he would be late because of a meeting, something she wanted to believe so badly but knew wasn't true. Her thoughts wandered from her husband to the strand of her to the phone calls. Helen knew that her family life was being held together by a thread. It's fragile state she had come to accept, but she had always thought that she could prevent it from falling apart.

And now she had come to the terrifying realization that some things were truly out of her reach. 

Lost in thought she had subconsciously begun to thumb a scar below her wedding ring, a habit that came out when she was nervous. She noticed it and stopped, realizing the irony of the situation. Her stubborn love being the reason she had that scar and the same stubborn love holding her back from confronting him. 

* * *

  _A few weeks after she had gotten engaged, she got a call from Dicker about a small scale bank robbery near her. She was slipping on her gloves when Bob walked in._

_"Oh, you're going out?" he asked._

_"Yeah, Rick just called me. It's not a big job, I'll be probably be done in under an hour."_

_He looked at her hand, raising an eyebrow. "You're still wearing your ring?"_

_"Couldn't find my brass knuckles so this'll have to do." she remarked._

_He laughed. "Won't it hurt when you punch someone?"_

_"Consider it proof of my love."_

_"You've proven your love enough times before."_

_She rolled her eyes while he grinned._

_"C'mon, I don't want you to get hurt." he said, pulling her in._

_"You know me. I don't get hurt." she replied, kissing him softly._

_That day she ended up cutting her finger while punching someone and needing stitches. It had healed up but the scar still remained. And when she was worried about him, she would find herself rubbing it._

* * *

 She heard the doorbell ring and went to open it. Bob walked in, giving her kiss. He seemed... tired. 

"How was your meeting?" she asked. 

"Same old, same old."

She heated up a plate of leftovers in the microwave, trying to focus on anything but him. The way his collar was crooked like he had just changed into that shirt. The fact that he kept running his fingers through his hair, something he did when he was lying. He could lie to her but she couldn't lie to herself. 

She brought the plates to the dining table as he sat down.

"You don't have to wait for me to eat, you know? After my promotion I'll be coming later and later. I'll probably get something to eat there." he said. 

"I wasn't hungry." she replied, pushing the food around on her plate. She felt  _juvenile_. Like a child hiding something from their parents out of spite. 

"How are the kids doing?"

"They're doing well. Violet got an A on her history presentation. Dash a B on his spelling test." 

"That's good."

They finished eating in a tense silence and headed upstairs, careful not to wake the kids up. 

As he changed, Helen sat on the bed reading. Her eyes were skimming over the words not really taking them in. She turned on the lamp as he shut off the lights and lay down in bed. 

 _Ask him now_ , she thought to herself. A younger Helen might have. A different Helen. But this Helen was afraid of the answer to her own questions, so she just looked at him falling into a deep sleep. Looking at him, she felt a surge of the same love she feared. Love, no matter how wonderful, made a person vulnerable. The one feeling Helen couldn't handle.

Bob reached out to grab her hand out of habit and she let him. Was this the same man she had married? The one that had worried about her every time she went on a mission? The one that had confessed to her that he was afraid before going to court? The same man that vowed to never hurt her? 

She was afraid of the answers to her questions. 


End file.
